https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-548-Defense-Against-the-Dark-Arts-Class/13685698/
Chapter 549: MoodyClass
When Michael sat on the ground, dazed, he saw Wade smirk, a slow, wicked curl of his lips. Then, one by one, several students collapsed onto the floor, rolling around in laughter—Crabbe, Terry, and two girls among them.
After the initial shock wore off, some students hesitated, fumbling over whom to target, while others wasted no time, launching spells at their nearest classmates without mercy.
Pansy raised her wand, and instantly, invisible ropes coiled around Daphne, dragging her to the ground.
Padma’s opponent was Mandy. Not wanting to cast a spell on a friend, Mandy hesitated, scrambling to find a Slytherin to fight. But before she could move, a Stunning Spell whistled past her hair. She spun just in time to avoid it.
There was no point in hesitation.
Padma screamed and leapt to her feet, immediately launching a counterattack. Her spellcasting skill was clearly superior to Mandy’s. Once her first attempt failed, Mandy knew she was beaten. Without asking for help, she hopped away on one leg, still under the effects of a Leg-Lock Spell.
Michael sighed, turned, and picked up his wand, which had flown away during the chaos. When he looked back, the brief duel was already over. Only seven students remained standing.
One had just won—only to be hit by a stray spell from another fight. Another pair had accidentally struck each other, both eliminated in the same instant.
Wade, Malfoy, Crabbe, Padma, Anthony, Pansy, and Zabini.
Moody, seated on the teacher’s chair, reached into his cloak and took a sip from an arc-shaped flask. He lifted his head, eyeing the group, surprised. “Well? Isn’t there someone still inside you all?”
Before the question even settled, Malfoy raised his wand toward Wade across the room. Padma dropped into a crouch and fired her spell instantly. Braith Zabini didn’t hesitate—he ducked behind Crabbe. Anthony stepped forward, clearly wanting to speak to Professor Moody. Pansy aimed her wand at Padma—then froze, her target gone.
But no one reacted faster than Wade.
“Immobulus! (Total Stasis!)”
The moment the spell left his wand, the entire classroom froze. Everyone was locked in place—except their eyes, which still darted around, wide with shock. Moody’s wine bottle hovered near his lips, forgotten. His magical eye, which had been spinning frantically, stopped dead.
Then, in a flash, he dropped the bottle, drew his wand, and pointed it straight at Wade’s chest. A crimson beam shot forward.
Wade barely reacted—but he did. He cast Petrificus Totalus. The two spells collided midair, exploding outward. One beam shattered the window with a loud bang. The other sliced past Crabbe’s thigh, blasting a table into splinters.
Crabbe yelped, clutching his torn trousers in horror.
“Good reaction,” Moody said, staring hard at Wade, wand still raised. “You can’t possibly be Snape’s little home boy who drank Polyjuice Potion to trick me, can you? Prove you’re yourself!”
His voice was sharp, full of suspicion. His magical eye spun wildly, the muscles around his eye twitching. The tip of his wand pulsed with a faint, dangerous glow.
If Wade didn’t prove his identity immediately, Moody would attack.
Wade paused, then said quietly, “Ari.”
The name of one of his home’s magical puppets. A secret known only to him, his parents, and Moody’s neighbors.
The wand’s glow flickered and died. The magical eye slowed, then settled. Moody narrowed his eyes.
“Hmm. Seems to be the real thing.”
He didn’t seem embarrassed by his paranoid state. With a flick, he returned the bottle to his cloak, then wiped it with the dusty fabric of his robe.
“Hmph… you passed. Good spellwork.” He took another sip. His gaze swept over the others, his wand tapping the floor. “As for you lot—look at your skill levels! Even a Nosedog could beat you!”
“Patil! What was that feeble spell for? You might as well hand your wand to your enemy!”
“Greengrass—keep casting like that, and you’d be better off helping Hagrid dig in the vegetable garden!”
“Theo Nott—what’s that thing on your shoulder? A decoration? If you can’t use it, just put it under your arse as a stool!”
“And you, Crabbe! If your opponent wasn’t that slow, you’d have been eliminated in the first round! At that distance? You missed? If your mastery over your wand is that poor, it’s worse than having no wand at all!”
Moody ranted, scolding every student except Wade. When he finally reached Michael, he paused—briefly.
The boy had been knocked out too quickly to show any real skill. Given how fast Wade had intervened, it was understandable. But he’d already reprimanded everyone else. He couldn’t let Michael off.
After a beat, he growled, “Stay alert! Remember what I said!”
Michael said nothing. He clenched his teeth, eyes fixed on Wade. Next time, he thought, you’ll get a surprise.
Even if he couldn’t beat Wade alone, there were others here. Michael wasn’t the only one with such thoughts.
But then Moody waved him aside, raised his wand, and released the stasis spell. He reshuffled the students—this time, not randomly, but based on skill level. Padma was matched against Pansy. Anthony faced Malfoy. Michael was assigned to Theodore Nott.
Looking at his lanky opponent, Michael rolled his eyes. Theo Nott responded with a tired, mocking smirk.
The classroom erupted again—spells flashing, shouts echoing. This time, the students weren’t just fighting their immediate foes. They were trying to sneak attacks on those who had already won.
Chaos reigned. By the end, not a single person remained standing.
Moody wandered among them, barking corrections.
“Boot! Don’t turn your back on your enemy!”
“Goldstein—too slow!”
“Crabbe, your casting stance is obvious! You’re giving yourself away!”
When he finished his second round of scolding—already five minutes past the bell—he returned to the front of the class. His voice, rough and gravelly, rang out:
“Next week, I expect your dueling skills to be stronger than a gnome’s. I’ll be teaching you how to recognize and disarm Dark Magic Traps.”
“Just a heads-up—there’s no such thing as an easy class with me.”
“Gray—stay behind. Everyone else, dismissed.”
(End of Chapter)
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